Grant’s Lead by example: Keane

SUNDERLAND’s in-form midfielder Grant Leadbitter can only get better. That is the view of Black Cats boss Roy Keane, who insists the 21-year-old is still not up to full speed after recovering from a hamstring injury.

That is the view of Black Cats boss Roy Keane, who insists the 21-year-old is still not up to full speed after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Leadbitter missed the first three games of the season with the injury, picked up in pre-season, and Keane insists he had no intention of throwing him straight in at the deep end by giving him the full 90 minutes.

Leadbitter, however, has been in such good form since returning Keane admits he has had little choice!

The locally-born schemer has responded by scoring in Sunderland’s last two games against Middlesbrough and Blackburn.

Keane said: “We missed Grant at the start of this season when he was out of action with a hamstring injury and, in truth, he is probably still getting up to speed.

“He is a player I did not want to throw straight back in to playing full games because I know the dangers of doing that with someone who has just come back from a hamstring problem.

“However, his performances have left me little choice – I think he has been on the pitch for virtually every minute since he came back!

“He has scored two goals, he takes decent set-pieces and he is a young lad who is learning all the time by playing week-in, week-out.”

Leadbitter is primarily a central midfielder but, with winger Carlos Edwards still sidelined with a hamstring problem, he has been operating wide on the right to good effect.

Keane added: “Grant has been a massive bonus since I came to the club – he can play in the middle but he has also proved he can do a job playing on the right side of midfield.

“I admitted last season I did not know much about him when I came here, but his performances were very good last year and he has been steadily improving.”

:: SUNDERLAND central defender Nyron Nosworthy has been called-up by Jamaica for the first time.

Nosworthy, who turns 27 next week, has been named in the squad which will play friendlies against Ghana and Honduras later this month.

The Reggae Boyz will take on Ghana at Leyton Orient's Brisbane Road ground on October 14 and then jet over to Jamaica to face Honduras in Kingston three days later.

Nosworthy said: “This is a great honour for me. I have always said I wanted to play for Jamaica and I will look forward to linking up with the squad.”

Nosworthy’s Sunderland team-mates Craig Gordon, Paul McShane, Daryl Murphy and Dickson Etuhu will also be on international duty for Scotland, Ireland and Nigeria next week.